The Anniversary of My First Sven Appearance on TV!

I just wanted to leave a brief message- today, the 16th, is the anniversary of my first appearance on TV as Sven- when I premiered as "Son of Svengoolie" on WFLD in 1979! The movie was "In the Year 2889"- and the print ads for the show did NOT feature a name- "Creature Feature's new host", they called me. the reason? Well...

Here's the background- after the WFLD management decided they wanted me to be the host- they didn't want me to look just like Jerry's Svengoolie (which I did in my pilot shoot)-so I changed from green hair, mustache and goatee to brown. Then, after we shot some test footage, they decided that the didn't like the vampire hippie look, feeling it was outdated. So, I came up with what became the "Son of Svengoolie" look that I first hit the air with (no thanks to them- when I showed it to them, the wishy-washy program director sat squirming, saying "well... I don't know..."- and I made it easy for him- I said - "well- this is it." He just stared, which was probably his major talent.

But, wait- there's more! I had pretty much been saying my name would be "Son of Svengoolie" from the get-go; but , since the bosses were out-of-towners, they weren't sure they liked or understood that name (cue the additional staring)-they wanted me to come up with a different one. I certainly didn't care to- but came up with a few-the one I liked best was "Baron Video"- which the guy who was going to be my producer nixed, saying "video is such an archaic term"...and within two years, MTV was launched, and the term video...well, never mind...

Anyway, this name game kept up, right up until the show was finally going to air (it was originally going to launch in May, but- well, the management indecision just kept coming)- which is why the ad didn't have me listed as "Son of Svengoolie". They wanted me to make it a contest- have people write in with what they thought my name should be. Big mistake- we got mail with suggestions like "I think your name should be George"... so, that was abandoned and I was, indeed. "Son of Svengoolie"- right up until I came to Weigel Broadcasting in 1995, where, as decreed by the late original Sven Jerry G.Bishop, I became simply "Svengoolie".

And so it continues, so many years later- as I always point out, I never would be where I am without the support of you loyal viewers who have stuck with me, turned others on to the show, and  helped bring us to our now national success- and thanks to our management here at Weigel Broadcasting- who can do much more than sit and stare and mull in confusion like those guys at my previous  employment. Thank you, once again!

Two big appearances this weekend- Saturday at a cool hearse show at the BrauerHouse in Lombard, IL, and Sunday, our return to the Little Boots Rodeo in Elk Grove Village. Details are available under the "appearance" tab on this site, as always. And- I know I keep hinting- there will be an amazingly cool event coming up later this summer- the news should break soon!

Thank you- again- for keeping the Svengoolie name alive and kicking- on to the next level!